Hope & District Chamber of Commerce president steps down

Kathleen Alexis is the acting president of the Hope & District Chamber of Commerce.

Kathleen Alexis has stepped up as acting president of the Hope & District Chamber of Commerce.

She took over the position earlier this month after former president Glen Ogren stepped down for personal reasons.

“There’s some medical issues that I want to get under control, which necessitated me stepping back and taking a less stressful role in the Chamber,” said Ogren, adding that he does plan to remain a board director.

“It’s been challenging at times, but overall it’s been very rewarding. I appreciate people putting their trust in me over the last couple years to be the voice of the Chamber.”

Ogren points out that during his two-year term the board’s direction has been more business-focused through initiatives like the Idea Exchange and business seminars. He’s also been involved with the Chamber website redesign, community branding initiative, bringing the inter-municipal business licence program to Hope, and working on coordinating highway incident management for faster response times to accidents.

Alexis will stay on as acting president until the next Chamber AGM and has already identified key areas to focus on.

In addition to organizing events for the new year, she plans to work more closely with the B.C. Chamber of Commerce on issues that affect businesses locally and provincewide. Alexis also wants to have more resources available to Chamber members.

“It is a very exciting opportunity to be taking over this position and I’m looking forward to the growth and development of the Chamber,” she said.

For more information on the local Chamber, visit hopechamber.net or www.facebook.com/HopeChamberofCommerce